The Margrethe Town

Nyborg Castle was built around 1170. Its
placement was strategic and favourable in the kingdom, which at
that time including the (now Swedish) provinces of Skåne, Halland
and Blekinge, as well as Southern Jutland. Nyborg would, with time,
play a decisive role in Danish history. During the reign of Queen
Margrethe I, the town achieved its basic form, which along with
Christian III's building projects, still characterises the middle
of town today.

Margrethe I (1353-1412) was the main force
responsible for putting Nyborg on the map in the Middle Ages. After
her armies' conquest of King Albrecht of Mecklenburg, she began her
extensive building projects at the Funish castle and town. The
castle was expanded and construction began on the Church of Our
Lady, to celebrate the victory over King Albrecht. Margrethe I also
started an impressive water-regulation project, the goal of which
was to surround the fortified town with water. This also meant that
the town was furnished with a steady supply of fresh water.

It was, without a doubt, a very demanding
project. A sluice at Kullerup, 5 km. west of Nyborg, pressed water
from the Vindinge River into Hjulby Lake. From here, labourers dug
a new river, Barn River, down to the castle, where the water was
held behind a dam and then led into new channels around the town
walls. The carefully planned town structure can still be seen
today; from the air, it is clearly heart-shaped. Nyborg can, with
good reason, be called the Heart of the Kingdom of Denmark, not
just because of its shape, but also since it is the pulsating point
in the country from which the regent and the parliament once ruled
the land.

The Danehof
From the 1200's until the 1400's, the Danehof gathered at Nyborg
Castle. The Danehof was the parliament of its day; King Valdemar
Atterdag (1340-1375) proclaimed in 1354 that the Danehof should
meet at Nyborg Castle once a year to discuss the future of the
kingdom. In 1377, Queen Margrethe I signed her son, Oluf's,
coronation charter at the castle, which again emphasised the role
of Nyborg Castle as the seat of the Danehof. In 1380, King Håkon
died, and his son Oluf ascended to the Norwegian throne. This meant
that his mother, Margrethe I, reigned Denmark and Norway in his
name. When Oluf died, 7 years later at age 16, Margrethe I was
named as regent over Denmark, Norway and Sweden: the Union of
Kalmar took shape.